


Malfunctions

by Bubbly88Tay



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Accidents Happen, Broken Bones, Broken body, Gen, I wouldn't trust steve to jump out of an airplane either', Whump, Whump Without Plot, as danny is very aware, honestly, some drowning involved, though they seem to happen to steve a lot, uhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 11:11:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18009839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bubbly88Tay/pseuds/Bubbly88Tay
Summary: Danny watches his fall with a sinking suspicion that something will go wrong, because it always does.





	Malfunctions

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt and Whump Exchange gift for @Vikujir on tumblr, sorry this took so long! but I hope you enjoy my whump loving friend. (The prompt was "A drowns/almost drowns, B frantic, finds and saves A.")
> 
> Standard Disclaimer - I don't own anything because I am young and horrible at saving money. (I dunno, didn't think I would make it this far honestly) So I don't own anything you recognize, and I am not a medical professional and I am multiple seasons behind on the show. Soooo enjoy!!!

* * *

 

In the past, 1 week ago

* * *

 

_ “Would you relax Danny? I’ve jumped out of an airplane before. At least this time I have a parachute.”  _

__   
  
That’s what Steve had told him over the phone while he had sat on the tarmac at the airport. Simultaneously the boat Danny was riding, chugged it’s way out to the coordinates that had been set for Steve to attempt to land at. Danny wanted to punch the knucklehead that ever brought this idea to Steve’s attention. 

 

_ “It’s for charity.” _

 

_ “It’s moronic.” _

 

Danny thinks that Steve jumping out of an airplane for charity is single handedly, one of the worst ideas the man has ever had. But once people started pledging, and Steve had raised more than 200,000 dollars in pledges, Danny realized that he really didn’t have a say in the matter anymore. So now he stood on a boat, with a few news crews that wanted in on the event, and most of the team, as well a few coast guardsmen in case anything went awry. 

 

Which, knowing Steve? It absolutely would. 

 

But there Danny was, an hour later and Steve plummeting towards him from above, and Danny still wasn’t relaxed. Not even close. If anything, he was far more tense knowing that Steve was somewhere above him, free falling towards the surface of the Earth.

 

“What the hell is he doing?” the uniformed, Coast Guard kid to his left asked the boat. The chatting from the various parties on the boat begin to dim, as Danny pulled his binoculars to his face and looked at the black dot in the sky that was slowly growing larger and larger. 

 

“What?” Danny asked, lowering his binoculars and looking pointedly at the young guy standing rigidly beside him, his eyes glued to the binoculars that were pointed in Steve's direction. The man, Danny’s eyes catch hold of the Wilson that is velcroed to his chest, doesn’t respond to Danny’s questioning so he made a point of waving a hand in front of Wilson’s binoculars. 

 

“What’s happening?” Danny demanded, as Wilson shook his head. 

 

“He should have deployed his parachute by now.” Wilson muttered to the now silent, small crowd that surrounded the men on the bow of the ship. 

 

“You’re joking, did McGarrett put you up to this?” Danny asked, as he felt the panic well up inside him. He knew the answer to that question before Wilson answered with a serious, ‘I wouldn’t joke about something like that.’ Of course this was happening. Steve can’t do anything without a flair for the dramatic. Danny looks back to the sky and could just make out Steve without the binoculars, falling towards the sea fast. 

 

“How much time does he have until he has to deploy?” Danny asked, as the crowd around him pushed him against the railing as everyone tried to catch a glimpse of Steve hurtling toward the surface of the Earth like a struggling meteorite. 

 

Danny didn’t catch Wilson’s nervous shrug. “If he doesn’t do it soon-”

 

“How soon?” Grover asked from somewhere beside Danny.

 

“Seconds.” Danny could hear the boat coming to life as the men and women who work on the boat prepare to go and scoop Steve out of the ocean, with an urgency that only serves to tighten the knot in Danny’s stomach. 

 

Danny found himself counting the seconds as he pulled his binoculars closer to his face. 

 

_ 1 _

 

Steve was struggling in his harness, his face pulled tight as he struggled with the pull string. 

 

_ 2  _

 

Steve glanced upwards where his parachute should be and back to the string that sat on his chest. 

 

_ 3 _

 

“There’s gotta be something we can do!” Kono yelled from somewhere behind Danny, but he realized with a sick sense of calmness that there  _ isn’t  _ anything that can be done for Steve.

 

_ 4 _

 

That while he was hurtling towards Earth, outstretched, trying to create as much drag as possible to slow himself down, Steve was the only one in control of his destiny. 

 

_ 5  _

 

“Shit! C’mon lieutenant!” Wilson yelled, practically into Danny’s ear. 

 

_ 6 _

 

“Come on Steve! Deploy the damn parachute!” Danny yelled in response-

 

As if a miracle was answered Steves parachute slung from his back as he continued to plummet towards the sea. Danny smiled in relief, but it dropped as he turned to face Wilson’s horrified face. Danny quickly turned back to Steve and watched as Steves shoot only just opened, and Danny realized with a sinking feeling that he was too close to the water. 

 

The parachute finally opened fully and pulled Steve to almost a stop but it wasn’t enough time. 

 

The bot was about 100 feet from where Steve hit the water, and Danny felt sick when he heard the smacking sound of Steve breaking through the water. “Steve!” Danny called, as the parachute settled around the area where Steve just crashed down. Danny’s heart pounded in his chest as Steve didn’t resurface like he had planned. 

 

“Where-what happened?” Danny croaked, intently watching the area that the boat began to churn towards. 

 

“He didn’t have enough time to slow down in the air, he essentially just hit concrete.” Wilson’s shaky, horrified voice responded. Danny nodded as he dropped his binoculars and immediately began to shed his outermost layer. 

 

It was a warm autumn day and Danny was grateful for the shorts and shirt that he wore. All he had to lose were his shoes. 

 

Danny’s shoes were off and Steve still hadn’t risen from the depths. The boat was about 50 feet from the parachute that still rested on the ocean's surface. Danny took a deep breath and went to jump from the bow before Wilson grabbed his arm, “What’re you doing?”

 

“I’m going to save my best friend, and I’ll be damned if you’re going to stop me.” Danny threatened. Wilson thought about it for a moment, ‘ _ a moment Steve doesn’t have, _ ’ before Wilson dropped his hand. 

 

“Jump from the side, stay away from the boat. If you find Steve, cut him from the chute and get him above water, we’ll have a team in the water as soon as the boat stops moving.”

 

Danny nodded, and then took off. He didn’t pause to listen to anyone trying to stop him, or even to look where he was jumping. He reached the side, then hurled himself over the side. 

 

He hit the warm waters and dives. He felt something crash beside him, but he didn’t pause to look, instead he broke the surface and began to swim as fast as he could, towards the parachute. While paddling, he noticed another figure, Kono to his right, and Wilson on her right. It was no surprise to Danny, but he appreciated the help. 

 

He reached the edge of the parachute only moments later, and the three of them dove under. 

 

Steve was floating a few feet below the surface of the water. He was absolutely still and Danny prays that they weren’t too late. 

 

He reached Steves side and Danny can already tell that he was injured. His legs both looked broken, but Danny didn’t focus on that. Instead he reached for Steve's face as Kono and Wilson both begin to cut the cords trapping Steve. Steve's eyes were closed, and his lips were blue. There was a tinge of blood in the water around his face, and Danny prayed that it meant he bit his lips when hitting the water, but he didn’t see anything that immediately explained the blood. 

 

Wilson was suddenlty tugging on Danny’s arms, and the four began to rise to the surface. They clear the edge of the parachute before they breached the surface. Danny didn’t realize that his lungs were screaming for air until he could take a breath again and coughed. 

 

“We gotta keep his face above the water, they’ll pull him straight from the water. Don’t press too hard on anything, we don’t know his injuries.” Wilson commanded, as a pair of divers jump in, a basket followed them. 

 

They reach the group and the female immediately worked on getting Steves unconscious, ‘ _ he’s not dead,’  _ form attached to the backboard. The male began to check Steve’s vitals as the larger boat slowly approaches the group, pointed so that the side will be beside the group in moments. 

 

There was a large group of people peering over the edges. The 5-0 team was at the opening in the side, ready to help pull Steve from the water, as well a few other Coast Guard members. 

 

The medics/divers were yelling at each other, as Steve was strapped in. A rope with a hook at the end was thrown at the group and Wilson grabbed hold of the hook and attached it to hoop at the top of the cage. “Pull him in!” Wilson called. 

 

The divers and Wilson kept the cage floating as they swim alongside it, Danny and Kono followed closely behind. The group on the boat pulled the cage from the water and Danny watched as Steve was pulled into a large group of people. 

 

Danny and Kono were pulled aboard followed by Wilson who was immediately pulled away by his commander. Danny heard a distinct “You can court martial me later, but saving civilians is what I joined up for, sir.” The ‘sir’ is very indignant. Danny looked to Steve, as medics worked over him as they worked on getting the water out of his lungs and air into them. 

 

Danny can’t watch, so instead he turned to his side, where Wilson had returned. “You didn’t have to come with me.” Danny panted, trying to act casual.

 

“I know.”

 

The pair don’t speak again, not until a bright red and white helicopter makes itself known as it flew towards the boat. 

 

Danny looked back to Steve, and they’ve intubated him. Danny only assumed that meant they got the water out of his lungs. They splinted his legs, and they braced his neck. It’s not good and that was very clear. Danny vowed to himself that next time, there wouldn’t be a next time. 

 

If Danny could help it, he would never allow Steve to jump out of an airplane. Would Steve listen? No. But the words bring comfort. They imply there will be a next time to dispute, and Danny felt sick, again, as he remembered that right then, a next time was looking highly unlikely.

 

“Where’s the chopper gonna land?” Danny asked hollowly. 

 

“It won’t. They’re gonna drop down some lines and pull him up, as well as one of the medics. So someone can keep pumping air in and catch the medics up to speed.”

 

Danny felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to his previously unoccupied other side, and sees Kono, a steely and determined look on her features, only hardened by the way her soaking hair frames her face. He knew that somewhere in there, she was terrified, but she wouldn’t show it. It just wasn’t her style. 

 

Grover looked sick, with his arms crossed tightly to his chest. Danny wasn’t sure if it was the way the boats rocked, or if Grover was shaking. Danny wanted to comfort the man, but he didn’t know what to do, so instead, he turned back to Wilson. “Have you seen this happen before?”

 

“A few times. Never this severe though.”

 

“Any of those times did someone die?” Wilson’s face darkened and Danny immediately knew the answer. He swore under his breath as Steve was hooked to the lines that were thrown from the helicopter. A medic hooked themselves as well and they’re pulled up quickly. 

 

Almost as soon as the copter arrived, it disappeared.

 

The boat was silent, and its crushing. “Find out what hospital they’re taking him to, and have Chin meet him there, I don’t want to miss any updates.” Danny ordered Kono. She nodded and got  straight to it. The boat began to move again, creating waves against the hull. 

 

It took everything left in him to walk the few feet to the edge of the boat and grip the railing, grounding himself as he stared down into the depths of the ocean, praying Steve hadn’t just become another victim of the depths.

* * *

 

In the present, 1  _ long  _ week later

* * *

 

Danny doesn’t knock, knowing no one will answer if he does. Instead, he stands toe to toe with the door. He waits a moment, staring at the nameplate on the door, as he summons the courage to push the door open and face Steve. 

 

He’s done this every day for a week. Walk into the hospital with his backpack hanging loosely on his shoulders. He waves at the security guard that sits near the reception desk at the main office, flashes a smile at the nurses that he passes at  the entrance to the ICU, keeps walking, his heartbeat only beginning to pace itself once he reaches the door. The door that still bears the name McGarrett. 

 

He takes a breath, and then pushes the door open. The room is lit only by the sunlight that pours in from the windows, but it’s enough to cast a warm glow throughout the room. 

 

_ “He should not have survived.” _

 

Steve’s skin is golden, only because of the sun’s glow. Danny knows that by the time he leaves, and once the sun has set, Steve glows sickly pale in the otherwise dark room. 

 

_ “He had an assortment of internal injuries, and lost a lot of blood already by the time he got here.” _

 

His legs are both wrapped in casts. He would never go through airport security the same. 

 

_ “Both legs had compound fractures in both the tibia and fibula. His left hip dislocated on impact, and his pelvis has a hairline fracture.” _

 

He lies flat on the bed, rigid, like a board. But also limp, as if there isn’t a soul in his body to move him. 

 

_ “He fractured 4 of the vertebrae in his lower back, and there is substantial swelling against the spinal cord that may impact how well he can move his legs-” _

 

His head has electrodes attached, reading his brain waves.

 

_ “-if he wakes up.” _

 

_ “If, what do you mean ‘if? He will wake up.” _

 

_ “We don’t know how long he went without air, all we have is an estimate. On top of the substantial damage that occured in his chest, it’s in the realm of possibility that he may not ever wake up, and honestly, that’s probably what will happen.” _

 

Danny sat in the chair, maneuvering his bag onto his lap as he tried to disappear into the chair. He takes a few moments before sighing heavily and placing his bag on the floor, and pulling his laptop and a few files out. 

 

“Well Steven, they finally figured out that your chute malfunctioned. Great lot of good that information does now.” 

 

_ “He’s in a coma, and at this point, that’s all we know.” _

 

Danny glanced up at the tube that disappeared down Steve’s throat and shudders uneasily. He’s seen this every day for the last week and it doesn’t make it any easier. 

 

_ “Keep talking to him, studies have proven that he can still hear you.” _

 

“Grace is asking if she can come see you, but I don’t want her to see you like this.” Danny lifts the lid on his laptop and logs in. “Kamekona says he’s gonna start a fundraiser raising money to cover your hospital bills, but I think we both know that there won’t be enough there to cover the wheelchair ride on the way out, much less everything else that it’s going to have to cover.”

 

Danny paused for a moment as he opened up the file and began to read through a few of notes he had scribbled in there from the day before. “The governor is telling me that I need to start working in the office again because the team needs a visible leader. I’ll tell you what, you would have been proud. I nearly bit that guy’s head off while Chin held me back.”

 

Danny smirked at the memory of the governor’s flash of fear as Danny lunged before Chin had caught his elbow and whipped him back, the bruises on his arm only there to corroborate his story. “You’d be proud of the team too. They want to come and visit but with there being a limit on the amount of people that can be in here,-” Danny’s smirk dropped rapidly, “-that and then the fact that just because you stop, doesn’t mean that crime will.”

 

Danny looked up from the file for a moment, unconsciously expecting a response, and his shoulders dropping when he doesn’t receive one. “Like this case right here, so get this…”

 

Danny delves into his work until well after the sun goes down. It’s only when a nurse pops in to do her rounds, does she give Danny ‘the look.’

 

“I know, I know, I’ll pack up and get outta here. You’ll call me if anything changes?” Danny  asks, pulling the charging cord out of his laptop, and closing the lid before replacing the files and his computer in the limp, ragid, backpack at his side. 

 

“Of course, detective. Now go get some sleep.” Danny smiles sheepishly at the nurse as he stands rigidly from the chair. He hears the pops and cracks sound from throughout his body, and his knees throbbed and ached at the inaction from throughout the day. The nurse shoots him a raised eyebrow look of amusement before returning to her mtrations. “He’s lucky to have as good of a friend as you.”

 

Danny stops moving at the words and drops his head and stares at the crevices in his hands. He swallows the lump in his throat before wiping at the new tears in his eyes. “It’s just really hard to see him like this.” Danny chokes out before pushing his emotions back. 

 

The nurse is looking at him sympathetically, and Danny for a moment tries to imagine her pain. She’s in here everyday working with patients, all of them like Steve, with their lives hanging in the balance. “Thank you, for all your doing.” Danny says without thinking, smiling at her. 

 

The side of her mouth twists upwards into a solemn half grin. “It’s an honor.” 

 

Danny steps forwards and lays a hand on his partners hand and shoulder. “You hear that asshole. You have the prettiest nurse in this hospital thinking it’s an honor to be trying to wake your lazy ass up. You’re a fool if you don’t wake up right now and prove all those doctors and specialists and…” Danny’s words die as he feels movement beneath his fingertips. He looks up at the nurse who is looking back at him, a frozen smile on her face. 

 

“This is very good.” She says, as she continues her ministrations. 

 

Danny gets away with being there for another couple of hours before he finally turns in for the night, sleeping in the waiting room at the end of the hall. 

* * *

 

2  _ very long  _ weeks later

* * *

 

He’s been cranky since he woke up. Danny gets it, he really does. Steve is an athletic man who has an unlimited amount of energy. So being trapped in a hospital room is bound to be considered awful in his book. 

 

But Danny can only take so much harrassment before he begins to grow frustrated. Danny hasn’t been in the room for more than twenty minutes before he throws a file at Steve, “Fine, you want something to do, look through this and see if you can find what we missed.”

 

“I’m off the job for three weeks and my team starts missing things? That is just unacceptable.” Steve ribs, but there have been so many ribs, it might has well have been a kick. 

 

“Listen here asshole, you’re not as keen and observant as you think yourself to be. I mean, for god sakes Steven, you couldn’t tell that the parachute you used to jump out of an airplane was not functioning correctly.” Danny hasn’t used that one yet, but considering the asshole was going to survive, he didn’t see why it wasn’t fair game. Steve's face didn’t fall, thankfully, instead he widened his mouth in shock. 

 

“That’s different.” Steve rebutted, struggling to come up with a response as he opens the file in his lap. 

 

“That is not different Steven, that is-”

 

“It’s a lapse of judgement.” the former SEAL cuts in, and it takes every bit of restraint to not shove his shoe down Steves throat.

 

“You are insufferable.” Danny mutters, dropping back into his chair and pulling out a second case file. He leans back, so that his partner can’t see him smiling at the familiarity of the situation. 

 

“Yea, I love you too, Danno.”

 

Danny continues to smile as he thanks God for the conversation. 

**Author's Note:**

> If y'all want to follow me on Tumblr, my main is Whumperwriter.tumblr.com. I also have one devoted to my writing, imagine-tay-tion.tumblr.com, where you can request fics from me! Hopefully I'll be talking to y'all soon!
> 
> And remember to leave me a comment, as they do feed my dark soul!


End file.
